This is page numbers 659 - 708 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was community.

Topics

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Sorry, Minister, wait for your light.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm just thinking, post-911 and pre-911, the program hasn't been around for a year, so I would really like to look at those stats after the year that the program has actually been launched to determine those numbers. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Madam Chair. The concern I am wanting to address is that I know 911, due to the certification, adds some extra steps, which means, at times, when a person is calling 911, as opposed to the old number, the time is actually taking longer. I am wondering if dispatch times will be part of the report.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Madam Chair. Looking at the response times that we have, don't quote me on it, but I think that we are in the seconds to be responding to calls that are coming through. Looking at where the Member is probably thinking that the time is kind of taking a while for us to respond is, I want to say, with the City of Yellowknife, because they do provide a service; we provide a service, but we are actually working together to improve and have one established service for the City of Yellowknife. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

I appreciate that, and I know that there is a lot of work to do. It's with each dispatch. I think 911 is a great step, and I think that following these public service standards is great. Sometimes you're better off just calling the fire department directly if you need the fire department in Hay River. We need to eliminate that step. We need to encourage 911 to be always used. When we get the numbers, seeing how many calls are going to the old number, I would also like to see if we, in the report, will have numbers showing how long 911 calls are taking.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Madam Chair. I hear the Member's comment, and we are still in transition, so I'm expecting the members of the public to be continuing to call the old numbers that were distributed in the past, but we are in transition. Going forward, I will provide the Member with the times of the calls that were received. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Minister. I just want to remind the Members to say "thank you" at the end. We have a different sound guy, so he needs to know when you're done, for the microphones. Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll remember to do that. I appreciate looking at the dispatch times, because I recognize people are going to continue to call the old numbers, and the goal is to eventually get everyone on 911 and make sure we are all having conversations about dispatch times. I look forward to those conversations. My next question is to consumer affairs. I, in time, would like to see a new Consumer Protection Act with a little more teeth, but can I get a sense of how many complaints the consumer affairs department deals with? Thank you.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member. Minister.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm not familiar with the number of consumer affairs complaints that we have received, but I will look to my colleagues to see if they have additional information that I can provide for you right now. I'll have Ms. Young respond. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Minister. Ms. Young.

Young

Thank you, Madam Chair. Surprisingly, the number of calls is actually quite small. In 2019, we had five complaints originate out of Yellowknife, two out of Hay River, and that has been typical. A lot of the emphasis has been on public education, but there have not been a lot of calls. I think part of that lends to what the Member is speaking of, about what we can do under the act. With us having a limited ability to do something, there may not be an impetus for people to call. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Ms. Young. Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, I completely agree. I think, without the legislation having more teeth, you get fewer complaints. I was just curious whether it was being utilised and the extent, now. Sorry, I wanted to switch to the Office of the Fire Marshal. This is probably one of my largest, actually, areas of constituents' complaints, is coming out of the Fire Marshal. I'm very excited that we will be reviewing the act. I believe there is a bit of a cultural issue in the department, in not working with people, and there has been inflexibility. I even know that the GNWT itself has had some issues with that office. What is the Minister doing to deal with the number of complaints regarding the Office of the Fire Marshal?

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am aware that we do have some concerns in regard to the Office of the Fire Marshal, but then I just feel reluctant to answer the question because it is a human resources question. Going forward, we are very consistent with the number of complaints that we do deal with, and we do act on them, as well. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Madam Chair. Sorry, I actually don't even know who the Fire Marshal is. I'm not speaking about the specific Fire Marshal; it's an office with procedures and policies in place, and people run into them. I know the Chamber has talked about appeal mechanisms. People have talked about adopting the Building Code to be more flexible for the realities on the ground. There are a number of ways we could amend the current policies and procedures under the Fire Marshal. I'm not speaking of the Fire Marshal as a person. I'm just wondering: has there been an increase in complaints stemming out of disputes around the Office of the Fire Marshal? Is that being dealt with? Can I just get a sense of where that's going?

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister.

Paulie Chinna

Paulie Chinna Sahtu

Thank you, Madam Chair. My apologies to the Member. I misunderstood the question. There are concerns in regard to the Office of the Fire Marshal, and the concerns that are brought forward deal with buildings and standards and whatever. That is why we are working with the Fire Prevention Act to improve our services. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Minister. I will now move on to Member for Yellowknife Centre.